The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to communication between an operating system and a management controller.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems provide important network services for enterprises and individuals. To improve reliability of networks, IHSs often include management controllers, such as baseboard management controllers (BMC), that support off-line management functions. For example, a management controller typically supports remote power up and power down of a server system as well as remote maintenance. A BMC may also monitor the health of its host IHS by collecting information from internal sensors. The BMC makes the collected information available to the host operating system and remotely connected management consoles. Traditionally, remote management consoles have depended on agents installed in the host OS to periodically query the BMC for hardware information. These agents initiated and managed the majority of communications between the host OS and the BMC. However, dependence upon OS-present agents is not ideal. First, agents must be written for each OS and then updated as the OS is updated. Second, agents consume IHS resources. For example, an agent must continuously run in the background of the OS as it periodically polls the BMC for hardware faults.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved system and method for communication between management controllers and operating systems.